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What is a sprue cutter?

Sprue cutters are used mainly for cutting and removing parts from the sprue of a plastic or metal moulding, but may also be used to cut thin wire in small electronic work.

They are often used by model makers, for removing plastic parts from a moulding such as those used in model aeroplane kits, and by jewellers, for cutting wire and removing small metal parts from a moulded metal "tree".

What is a sprue?

A sprue is the connecting piece of plastic or metal that holds the finished parts to the runners of a moulding. Plastic mouldings will usually be flat, and may have parts of many different sizes connected to the runners by sprues.

Metal mouldings have many parts connected by sprues to one central runner. They look like tree trunks with branches sprouting from them, which is why they are often referred to as sprue trees.

Are there different types of sprue cutter?

There are different types of sprue cutter available for use with different types and thicknesses of material. These types are tweezer action, single lever action and compound lever action sprue cutters. For more information on the different types of sprue cutters, see our page What are the different types of sprue cutter?